Governor Greg Abbott has officially appointed his former appointee for the 464th state District Court, Ysmael D. Fonseca Jr., to serve as the presiding judge of the new 476th state District Court in Hidalgo County.
Fonseca is currently a partner at Guerra & Sabo, PLLC., who previously served as judge of the 464th state District Court.
He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Hidalgo County Bar Association, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance and The Federalist Society.
“I am honored and humbled to have received Governor Abbott’s confidence to serve as the presiding Judge for the 476th District Court,” Fonseca said in a press release. “I am looking forward to working for the State of Texas again and serving in the fair and impartial administration of justice.”
In December, Abbott had appointed Mission Attorney Horacio Peña to be the presiding judge in the new court but in an interview with The Monitor, Peña said he had to ask to be withdrawn from the appointment due to the fact he is a sole practitioner.
He added that it would be difficult to shut down his practice in 45 to 60 days and felt obligated to see his clients’ court cases through.
Peña thanked Abbott for the initial appointment and congratulated Fonseca on his.
“It really wasn’t fair to the governor, they need someone in there to get the court started but Judge Fonseca is a good choice, he’s a good man,” Peña said.
